Winter Cherry (again) – (2)

Just take picture of mere cherry flowers, this set up must be the most swaggering one. 

Still I’m not doing this for ostentatious show off.  simply because, the lens (rear part of a video camera wide converter) has 160mm focal length, hence it need to have quite long extension (therefore, need to use a bellows).  And why I wanted to use this lens here, you will see it in those photos.  Wide converter was made by a reputed good lens maker Tokina, not a jokey Chinese crap.  — I wanted their lens component, not the function of wide converter.  So, I hacksawed it to take a front concave lens out. (which became to the front element of “Wide angle Pinhole Machine“.  And the left over converging lens became a fuzzy long focal lens as you can see it here.  😀 

Those optical devices were designed to give decent requisite function in certain quality, it’s mean, those optics has been designed to eliminate the aberration by combining the different types of lenses — in other words, if the front and rear element was separated, aberration couldn’t be corrected.  

(Photo left = despite of heavy halation, this lens gives quite sharp image.  And having a nice softness.)

So, this rear part of the lens showed quite a blur yet still, it retains the certain sharpness (= It’s a funny lens ! —– I like it though, shame, it’s so awkward to use.)

Ideally those photos should have rather dark blue sky to show white halo around the flowers though, the sky was just hopelessly gray. (Another solution would be, go back there with a flash or LED ring light when the ambient light was getting dimmer. —– I might do it. )

And, to everybody, a Happy New Year for 2017

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Winter Cherry (again !)

OMG, —– when I walked close by, I noticed that, that Cherry is flowering again. —– Since she is flowering every winter, it shouldn’t be any surprise though, when actually face it, still it was a OMG.

Though this time all the flowers are rather high on the branches.  I went back there with “Tele-photo Pinhole” = simply it was the DD Pinhole further extended by the extension rings which made it to 105mm Tele-photo.  (If it was a lens, extension ring will work as a close-up device but for a pinhole, it only makes the effective focal length longer. — in fact, as it will make the image larger, it would have a close-up effect as well though, pinhole has no focus at all, in any “focal length”, if you close to the subject, you will get larger image any way.)  So, what so ever the theory, Pinhole image is Pinhole like image.  Too fuzzy.  Still  if anybody want to see more decent sharper images of the same flowers, I got many many other shot. = please go back to them.   😀

(On the photos above, left and middle were the same flower though, the middle photo was by the Mag lens (and heavily cropped)

I may need to come back with other kind of lenses.  😀

Incidentally, soon after I wrote London weather was mild, suddenly it became cold.  And, this is my first frosty photo of this season. (by the Mag lens)

So, anybody in the cold, Please survive well.

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Oxford Street (and Selfridge) Xmas shot

Those photos were taken by the lenses, homemade Mag Lens or Halina wide Lens though, few of them were by the Gaudy Lens on the Tilting Bellows with Sony A7R.

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Halina Wide or its lens

Often I’ve been using a term “Junk” or “Toy Camera” quite casually, despite of a bit of guilty   conscious.    Many years ago, once I strongly complained to Nikon, when they produced a (relatively) cheap Nikon EM with its back-light compensation button in blue plastic (it really looks cheap plastic) I said to them (to the boss of Nikon UK) “Don’t make cheap camera looks cheap” “Although, it is cheap, for the young student from a poor back ground, it must be an affordable limit, and their dream and the treasured possession” “Make it looks cheap and make them feel shabby wouldn’t create the future of Nikon any good return”= so, they changed the button to chrome colored. —– Yes for some people, so-called Toy Camera was still only a camera they could afford. 

On the photo, you may see 4 of the Canon EFS 18~55 — in fact I had 2 more which I’ve completely taken down to the pieces for study or use the motor etc. for the other purpose (such as this front element or that).

People may misconceived that a kind of the work I’ve been doing, it must be done in a well equipped proper workshop. (Quite few people thought I got a Lathe machine, even a Laser Cutter.)  They were wrong, the works were done in my kitchen mostly by a hacksaw.  (if it was a very dusty work, done in a bath tub (without water of course)

Forget a political correctness kind —– the reality IS, the cheap camera which end-up in an odds-ends box as a junk was just made by an ABS plastic mold + plastic parts = nothing like each mechanical unit was assembled on the metal frame like a more expensive counterpart.    So, to disassemble a junk camera meant hacksaw the area I need to gauged out from the lest. 

Then, gauged out lens unit (in this case 2 plastic lenses) was temporally attached on the camera to see the exact position. (Photo left)   And test mount the lens unit on the camera body cap. (Photo middle)  On the end, this is the finished product. (Photo right)

While toiling with such hard work, what sort of the image could be created ?   In reality, nothing special or rather say, it’s a crap.

Not necessary the infinity, but this is a far enough distant objects.   Tree twig looks twig = seems OK.

And without having refocus (no such things here), the subjects, a meter or so looks like what we are seeing.  May be this is the point, we are amazed.  (Really ? !)

Wait a moment, think again.  A lens of 28mm (for full frame) would have rather large depth of field.  Say, fix the distance to 1.7m and set the aperture for F8, the subjects from 0.8m to somewhat 20m (almost “far”) would be (regarded to be) in focus. 

So, this IS the image made by a lens (Canon EFS 18~55) fix to 28mm, 1.7m and F8.

And this IS the close distance image made by the same lens without chang anything. (focus was still 1.7m)

It must be clear, so-called omunifocus is not necessary an amazing phenomenon. Here is a very simple common sence in photography = Stopped down wide-angle lens can shoot anything.  (But the trouble IS, it would make the photo looks messy — to express, the less is more)   🙂

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WW Party on the Boat

WW gathering (some says, it is Wireless Workshop, others say Wednesday Workshop or Wireless Wednesday ? ? ? = since it started as a group hacking into 2.4 GHz Wireless Data link) had a party in a Pub in the Westminster, and to go there we took a boat on the Thames river.

So, from Greenwich Pier we took a boat TRS (Thames River Service).    It was still 4:30 though, it was already after sunset = night voyage.    How fancy !

And we arrived to the Westminster = its mean the foot of Big-ben.

After that, not much to show.  😀

By the way, a white dot on the right end was the Super full moon ! —– though don’t ask any better picture.  The lens was a junk (£5) Canon EFS 18~55 lens on Sony A7 camera — ( it’s mean no F-aperture control = fully open.)   And the shake of the images were not because of the moving ship or I was drunk,  I purposely made them for a sake of the art = believe me.     He he he.    😀

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Thinking process

Sorry, it’s about that bellows again.  — behind the apparent shape and its function, that Sony Tilt attachment has many hidden structures and the stories, such as the bottom of A7R camera, additional plate was screwed. Because the device’s constant adjustment = rotation, the plate protect the camera bottom scratched.  And the hard alumium plate has anodized hard surface, which would prevent the two aluminium parts stack together.

You may not able to guess how the bag bellows was made and attached to the mount of both side.  Imagine, if the leather bag was made separately, how you can attach it to the mount (Body side was a camera body cap and the lens side was the back of the front panel with Canon EF mount attached.)  = In order to have the precise position of the mount, a length of black leather was first glued to each mount ring.  Then the leather was folded to the position and stitched together to make a closed bag.  (Because the tilt movement is only one side, the bag was made wedged shape.)

When we make (design) something, there are two different approach.     One is to imagine the final piece in the brain first. And cut the material in each size and shape then assemble altogether.   And the other is, bring the major material to the place and find the size and shape etc on the spot while giving many considerations.  So that the making process is step by step.

(Sound somewhat out of context, you may think though)  The Buddhist’s approach is the later.  Lord Buddha loathe to rely on the imagination, hence he didn’t teach notions, even not rely on the words.  Because  he taught the Karma = everything exists and moves following the Karma.   The sign or agent of the Karma are on front of us and they are keep changing moment to moment.  Perceive all those Karma and intuitively follow them will be the least troublesome life we can have. (Intuitive mean, without having “thinking” self = Selfless = be in the Void = with Dharma)    This is the reason why we have to deal with the things on front of us.  If not on there, its mean, it exists in the thinking or imagination.   So, to make a thing on the spot, while finding the precise dimension and the requirement is the right approach to do.   (It’s not against the nuclear scientists designing particle collider — we may not able to see the particles or tela gauss magnetic force by our eyes still, they are there. = Scientists intuitively count its effect in.) —– In this world, there is no ideal remedy or solution (which was a product of imagination or fantasy) but only practical measure applied on the spot, moment to moment. (You might have seen or remember that all the so-called  “ology / ism” has been bankrupted leaving immeasurable destruction behind ! )

___/\___

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Cutting business

Yes, it IS (was) a cutting business (with hack-saw and the files etc) in deed.   (It was a reason why I’ve been away a while — normally Zen Buddhist doesn’t make any excuse (= since, if it’s happened, it has to be happened) though, these days, others may mistake I’m dead !  😀  

As a work on front of me, which was to make a tilting bellows for Sony A7 camera.  In the past, I’ve made quite few lens tilting devices and the cameras which can push the character of the wide-angle lens to the limit, exaggerating the effect of perspective in the pan-focus image enviroment.   To make it with the convenience of the DSLR, I pland it using a Canon 5D Mk-2, hence I’ve bought one more body though, while encountering to Sony A7 which got 18mm thin flange-back (distance from the lens mount to image sensor) on full frame format, I changed my plan at once.

18mm flange-back against the most of full frame SLR’s lens of which got about 45mm back-focus, the margine of 15mm or so was ample enough to maneuver the lens even with 30° tilt !   (+Added advantage of the A7 camera is, its electronic view finder can keep showing the bright image even under the heavy tilt and the aperture stopped-doun condition.)

From this point, the rest of work would be a stitch work to make a leather bag bellows. (and the hundreds of the test shots to establish the technical data.)  🙂

I’ll show the finished product and the worthwhile image when they were ready.)

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Fill the sink-hole in one week

A sink-hole ( 30m x 25 m x 15 m deep) appeared in the center of Hakata city in Japan has been filled just in a week. Here is a video footage of whole process condensed to the even shorter 140 second. (Compiled from the NHK 24 hours live camera image)   They are a record of the ordinary ground work = nothing fancy, no drop of the soil from a helicopter kind but just a filling work, connecting life line etc. in a gapless efficient works.  Hence it was done in the shortest possible time (save a little delay due to the bad weather) of which the foreign media described that if it was in their country, it could have taken a month, even a year or more.    Though it involved ten or more specialist company, each work wouldn’t take long hours to do = in other words, well organised continuous work (= without waiting, arguing kind of time waster) work could be done and has been done. —– On this episode, the most crucial point in the Japanese psyche is, that they can make themselves Ego-less at once.  This is the core of the Japanese Ethos, originated from the Zen Buddhism, Mushin (Mind of No-mind). With this deeply sublimated Ethos = Collective Unconsciousness, all the construction company, expert in each trade come together work together, disregard the competing company’s interest etc. The company’s interest, individual interest were copletely over ridden by the sense of “Duty”to serve the community. 

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How silly !

Nik-DD

While checking my own post (I need = notorious trouble of mis-speling), I realized “Wait a moment, why did I need to make a screen shot of Aster flower, while having such fuzzy pinhole — How silly”

Whether you believe or not, I’ve completely forgotten the existence of Double Density Pinhole.  I should insist, this was not a demented memory but the Zen No-mind.   🙂   —– Zen only deals with the things on front = if not on front, it is not exists, since the mind is not clinging the No-existent things.

Anyway, to find the “Pinhole Machine” for Sony A7  and  For Nikon (+ adapter), and had the shot of Aster with ISO 25600 setting.  (More artefact noise would appear with longer exposure = dark evening)

The left photo was a Double density Pinhole. — Nikon type Pinhole machine has Multiple Pinhole as well. (Photo right)

They are the compalison = Pinhole machine for Sony A7 —– As the pinhole is much closer to the sensor, the images are much wider and the color on the edge is sifted to magenta. (Left is DD, and the right was mono-pinhole though, not much present fuzzy effect.

Nik-DD

Pinhole sounds simple and easy to make though, — because it IS such small, very difficult to controle = very difficult to replicate the same effect.

Nik-DD

So, I have to be contented to have this fuzziness on Autumn Color.  🙂

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Exploding Cinema or Firework

Last night was a so called Bonfire night and may be to coincide with it, a cinema session “Exploding Cinema” was held in south London.

I popped out carring A7R camera with a homemade “Mag lens” attached on it.   But as I saw the fireworks over a park,  soon I realized that I put a wrong lens. 

Mag lens makes the largest halation among my homemade lens = bright spot like firework become just a big blob.  Still, that’s what I got then, — never mind, it won’t kill me in any way.

Exploding Cinema has been running by the volunteers, film enthusiasts for the past 25 years.  (And I know the current figurehead, Matt for 20 odd years.  When I met him, he was a visual media technician and I was an almost a dancer in residents of the Fridge Club in Brixton.)  Exploding Cinema is showing all the films submitted without selecting, and running totally independent. (so that, the waiting list said to be more than one year to be shown there)

So, the films shown there were from short comical Anime to professionally made quite serious one. (A film produced by Chris R’s “Drone Strike” was a heavy staff good enough for the big screen.)

And MMM    🙂

When I popped out, the fireworks exploded over my head, —– I found, the lens character of big blob is quite pretty in deed.  Ha ha ha,   😀

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